THIS DATE IN WEATHER HISTORY

1953: Sudden snowstorm strikes Philadelphia

Episode Details

On the morning of November 6, 1953, AccuWeather Founder and CEO, Joel Myers, peddled his bicycle to school in Philadelphia wearing only a thin jacket. He said that “Just a few days before the temperature had been in the seventies but then it was about 50 degrees. The radio mentioned colder weather and chance of a snow flurry in the afternoon ... well it began to snow by noontime and by mid-afternoon we were in the midst of a tremendous snowstorm ... big flakes and gusty winds. After school I pushed my bicycle home through heavy blowing snow as winds gusted to 50 miles an hour, and temperatures fell below freezing. By the next morning... snow accumulations across eastern Pennsylvania ranged from 3-30". Officially a little less than 4” of snow fell in Philadelphia but that was still enough to make it a record snowfall for so early in the season, the far northern and western suburbs were paralyzed by almost 30” of heavy wet snow that took a week to clean up.

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THIS DATE IN WEATHER HISTORY

1953: Sudden snowstorm strikes Philadelphia

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